Handlebars

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT HANDLEBARS - PAGE 2

PARIS, July 19 (Reuters) - World champion Mark Cavendish crashed towards the end of the 17th stage of the Tour de France after a flag waved by a spectator got wrapped around his handlebars on Thursday. The incident happened some three kilometres from the finish but the Briton escaped with a swollen leg. "He's sitting with me, he's fine," Team Sky sports director Sean Yates said by telephone. Cavendish related the incident on his Twitter feed: "Thanks to the (expletive)

It's not just the helmet that looks dorky. After seeing this photo of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tooling around town with his family last weekend, we wondered whether Obama needed to raise the bar, and the seat. OK, we know the bike was probably a prop. But we still checked with bike fitter Christian Soto at Turin Bikes in Evanston. Soto agreed that based on the photo, the senator didn't just need a serious seat height adjustment; he should be riding a bigger bike altogether.

A 34-year-old Deerfield man was charged with possession of cannabis after police said they found a vial of marijuana on the motorcycle he was riding. Zane Smith of 934 Beverly Pl. was arrested Monday during a traffic stop for an alleged registration violation, according to police reports. A patrol officer reported that he saw the vial near the handlebars of the motorcycle while he was questioning Smith about the registration. Smith also was charged with not having a valid Illinois driver's license or mandatory insurance coverage for the motorcycle.

A 15-year-old bicyclist was killed Monday night by a hit-and-run driver who dragged the youth 100 yards along a West Side street, police said. A Chevrolet Blazer struck the youth from behind at about 8:40 p.m. as he pedaled west along the 3100 block of West Cermak Road with a 14-year-old friend on the handlebars, according to Marquette District Officer Jeff Bybee. The friend was thrown from the handlebars and suffered a broken leg, authorities said. The 15-year-old, caught on the vehicle's front bumper, was dragged 100 yards as the vehicle turned right off Cermak Road and sped off along Troy Street, Bybee said.

A 14-year-old Alsip boy died Wednesday afternoon after he slipped backward off a curb and was struck by a truck in Blue Island. Police said that Theodore Krzyzanowski, of the 3600 block of West Benck Drive, had been sitting on the handlebars of a bicycle as his friend rode it around a restaurant parking lot near Kedzie Avenue and 127th Street. The boys saw a flatbed truck traveling north on Kedzie around 3:30 p.m. and stopped the bicycle at the sidewalk, where Krzyzanowski got off the handlebars, said Blue Island Police Sgt. Joseph Baskys.

Even if you never fall off, bicycling can be a pain and a hazard for regular riders. Which is a shame, because pedaling is one of the best exercises around, burning hundreds of calories per hour and available to anyone with two wheels and a clear stretch of pavement. Besides injuries from collisions and falls, regular biking can spur chronic problems in the hands, wrists, neck, shoulders and knees. The constant pressure of a hard seat on groin and backside can even lead, in extreme cases, to male impotence, according to Dr. Michael Chapman, chairman of the trauma committee of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Paul and Rene Reyna, two brothers from Little Village, were attending the wedding of Vince Rodriguez and Erika Bradley at the Chicago Cultural Center when they wandered upon "Free Wheelin': An American Bicycle Collection," a retrospective exhibit that opened Saturday. The Reyna brothers were having a good time, commenting on the bikes that looked "cool" and laughing at some of the odd-looking ones, when a flustered Rodriguez, 27, came racing through the exhibit looking for them.

TIME TO WORK OUT: If you find yourself saying you don't have time to exercise, take a look at your day planner for wasted time. For example, examine how late you sleep in the morning and how long you take for a lunch break. Even 10 minutes of exercise is beneficial. PAIN IN THE NECK: If riding your bicycle leaves you with neck pain, it's possible that your upper body is extended too far on the bike. If you can, switch to a bike or handlebars that let you sit more upright. If that isn't an option, make sure you move your neck frequently, so it's not locked in one position.